Traditionally, mobile phones have been used to send and receive short messaging service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS) messages. The SMS or MMS messages may be stored at the mobile phone and associated with a timestamp when the transmission of the message is requested at the mobile phone or when the message is received at the mobile phone. However, in recent years, some telephone companies have created interfaces allowing users to send or receive SMS or MMS messages from a tablet computer running a messaging application or from a web access device (e.g., a laptop or desktop computer or an Internet kiosk) including a browser that can access the user's account via a webpage of the telephone company. In some interfaces, whether at the mobile phone, the tablet computer, or the web access device, the SMS or MMS messages are presented in reverse chronological order. In other words, newer messages, associated with a later timestamp, may be presented above older messages associated with an earlier timestamp. Due to programming of the integrated messaging server, which may be difficult to modify and which was originally designed to create timestamp(s) for message(s) without relying on information stored externally to the integrated messaging server, the timestamp for an SMS or MMS message presented at the tablet computer or web access device corresponds to a time when the SMS or MMS message was received at an integrated messaging server of the telephone company due to a limitation of how the SMSC/MMSC works with the mobile phone. The timestamp on the mobile phone and SMSC/MMSC is generated when the message is sent/received on the mobile phone or the SMSC/MMSC, respectively. The timestamp on the integrated messaging server is the time the message passes through the SMSC/MMSC, not when the message is delivered to the mobile phone. For example, the mobile is turned off. The message arrives to SMSC/MMSC at 1:00 pm. The mobile phone is turned on at 1:30 pm and the SMSC/MMSC delivers the message. The mobile phone has a timestamp of 1:30 while Integrated Messaging Server has a timestamp of 1:00.
However, the timestamp for the same SMS or MMS message presented at the mobile phone, implementing the SMS or MMS protocol, corresponds to a time when sending the message was requested at the mobile phone or when the message was received at the mobile phone due to the SMS and MMS standards and the design of the SMS Center or MMS Center, which was created several years ago and may be difficult to modify. When the mobile phone is connected to the network and an outgoing SMS or MMS message is sent via the mobile phone or via a device (e.g., a tablet computer or a web access device) associated with the telephony account of the mobile phone, the integrated messaging server may be notified of the outgoing SMS or MMS message at approximately the same time (e.g., within the same minute) as the sending request is made at the mobile phone. Similarly, when the mobile phone is connected to the network and an inbound SMS or MMS message is directed to the mobile phone, the same integrated messaging server may be notified of the inbound SMS or MMS message at approximately the same time as the mobile phone. As a result, the timestamps stored at the integrated messaging server and at the mobile phone may be consistent, and a consistent ordering of the SMS messages may be provided at different devices.
In some cases, the mobile phone may be disconnected from the network, for example, when the mobile phone travels outside of a coverage area, has its network radio turned off (e.g., in airplane mode), or is powered off. If a SMS or MMS message directed to the mobile phone is received at a SMS Center or a MMS Center, the SMS or MMS message may be provided to the integrated messaging server in real-time and provided to the mobile phone by the SMS/MMS Center after the mobile phone reconnects to the network. The message may be associated at each of the integrated messaging server, the tablet computer, and the web access device with a timestamp corresponding to a time of receipt at the integrated messaging server but at the receiving mobile phone with a timestamp corresponding to a time of receipt at the receiving mobile phone. Similarly, if a user of the mobile phone requests, via the mobile phone, sending of a SMS or a MMS message while the mobile phone is disconnected from the network, the message may be associated, at the sending mobile phone, with a timestamp corresponding to the time when the sending was requested by the user. However, the message may be associated, at the integrated messaging server, with a timestamp corresponding to a time when the sending mobile phone reconnects to the network and the transmission takes place. As a result, timestamp(s) of message(s) stored at the mobile phone may be different from timestamp(s) of message(s) stored at the integrated messaging server.
Due to the different timestamp(s) at the mobile phone and the integrated messaging server, the order of messages presented at the mobile phone may be different from the order of messages presented at device(s) connected to the integrated messaging server, such as the tablet computer or the web access device. As the foregoing illustrates, a new approach for ensuring message timestamp consistency across devices may be desirable.